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O.F.SGATTERGOOD.1

Cotton-Gin. No. 227,063. Pa'tenteo l April'2 7, I880.

Wihxesses Q @HQW CHARLES F. SGATTERGOOD, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO H. V.

SOATTERGOOD, OF SAME PLACE.

COTTON-GIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,063, elated April 27, 1880.

Applica. 1011 filed December 15, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES F. SGATLER- GOOD, of the city and county of Albany, ltl State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements on Cotton-Grins, of which the following is a full and exact description, referenc had to the accompanying draw part of this specification, in wnnv Figure lisalongitudinal section at the line a. :1; of Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a plan view; and Fig. 3, o enlarged detached view of part of the frame-work, showing more clearly the springlinings in which the condenser and pressingroller rotate.

My invention relates to cotton-gins having condensers; and it consists in constructing and combining the parts, as herein shown and described.

The object of my invention is to form a hat of *otton in a more perfect manner than vhas bet accomplished heretofore, to separate therefrom the dust and other impurities more thoroughly, and to prevent the machine from clogging.

As shown in the drawings, A is the framework of the machine, made of any suitable material and substantially in the form shown B, the shaft for the ginning cylinder or saws b, a pinion secured to the shaft 13; O, the brushcylinder, provided with a series of brushes in the usual manner; D, the condenser and screen, consisting of a slowly-revolving cylinder made of foraminated sheet metal. The heads of the cylinder are imperforate, and are secured to a shaft, upon the journals of which the condenser revolves in bearings formed in the frame A.

whereby its center is retained in a fixed position in respect to the centers of the other revolving parts of the machine whose bearings are formed in the frame-work.

E is a pressing-roller located 'at the termination of the delivery-throat, where it revolves in the outer end of the links F, pivoted to the frame A by the stud f, so as to permit the roller to adjust itself to the varying thickness of the bat of cotton passing beneath it; G, a gear-wheel, in which the pinion 11 engages, attached to the sprocket-wheel g, and revolving on the stud H; I and J, sprocket-wheels secured, respectively, to the shafts of the roller E and condenser D; K, an endless chain engaging in the sprocket-wheels g, I, and J, for the purpose of imparting to the several parts of the machine their required motions; L, a

- guide-wheel for carrying the chain in the proper direction between the sprocket-wheels g and J.

Beneath the brush-cylinder O, and deflecting upward toward and nearly to the condenser D, is the mote-board M, which terminates in a flexible apron, m, of leather or other suitable material. This apron comes in contact with the condenser D and prevents the discharge of the lint through the opening between the condenser and mote-board. Theinclination of the mote-board serves to give direction to the lint and currents of air from the brush-cylinder to the condenser.

A curved shield or apron, N, abuts against the mote-board M, and, passing beneath and thence upward to partially cover the back part of the condenser D, as shown in the drawings, forms a pocket or receptacle for collecting the dirt and other solid matter that is carried with the lint to the condenser and discharged through its perforations. The side pieces of the frame-work have the openings 0 formed in them, through which access is had to the pocket for the removal of the dirt therefrom.

The covering P of the machine follows the contour of the upper edge of the frame-work, thereby forming a discharge-opening having a gradually-increasing radius of curve from a point vertically over the axis of the condenser to the outer extremity of the throat. A curved lid, Q, follows the curve of the cover P over the throat and is hinged to said cover, for the purpose of obtaining access to the throat. This lid is'provided with a flexible apron, R, which bears against the roller E, and prevents the escape of lint at that point.

For the purpose of ginning, motion is given in the usual manner to the shaft 13, whose pinion I) imparts the motion through the sprocket-wheels and endless chain, hereinbefore described, to the several parts connected thereby, .rotating them in the directions indicated by the curved arrows in Fig. 1. A

high speed is given to the brush-cylinder C from the shaft B, in the usual manner, and in the direction shown by the arrow marked thereon.

The lint is removed from the ginning-saws by the brushes, and is carried by the air-currents generated by the rapid rotations of the brush-cylinder until it is deposited upon the exposed surface of the condenser in the form of a loose flock of cotton, through which the currents of air pass with sufficient force to remove therefrom any particles of dust or dirtcarried by the lint, and to force such particles through the perforations of the condenser, thereby cleaning or screening the cotton in a very thorough manner.

By the rotation of the condenser the flock is carried beneath the pressing-roller E, by which it is compressed to form a compact bat of cotton of sufficient density to resist the passage of the air-currents through it. The bat, before it reaches the upper edge of the shield or apron N, (which, at this point, is kept away from the condenser just far enough to prevent any frictional contact between them,) is raised from the face of the condenser by the currents of air from the brush-cylinder, which pass through the loose flock of cotton and the perforations of the condenser, as shown by the dotted arrows in Fig. 1, and are brought in contact with the compact bat with sufficient force to raise it so as to pass freely over the apron N, by which it is guided as it is discharged from the machine.

The currents of air passing into the condenser between the flexible apron m and roller E are divided, in their discharge from the condenser, by the upper edge of the shield or apron N, those escaping between that point and the roller E serving to raise the batof cotton, as above described, while those passing downward force out through the perforations the dirt carried into the condenser from the lint. This dirt falls into the pocket formed by the apron N, and is thereby prevented from mingling with the cotton as itis discharged from the machine.

When desirable the air-currents may be generated by a fan-blower, or any other suitable means, independently of the brush-cylinder; but, preferably, I utilize the brush cylinder for that purpose.

By compressing the bat of cotton to a density sufficient for the air-currents to raise it from the condenser I am enabled to dispense with the use of the doffing-rollers usually employed to remove the cotton from the condenser.

A prolific source of trouble in the operation of cottongins to which condensers are attached arises from the clogging of the machine. This is caused by collecting therein the material from the brushes faster than it can be discharged from the condenser. When this occurs the belts commonly used for driving the condenser and its appurtenances are thrown from their pulleys, thereby leaving the discharging mechanism idle, while the saws and brushes are aggravating the evil by delivering more lint into the already-overcharged machine. This difficulty is entirely remedied in my improvement by substituting the sprocket-wheels and endless chain for the pulleys and belts, thereby giving a positive motion to the discharging mechanism.

Another common trouble in condenser cot ton-gins is due to the lint becoming packed, either between the ends of the condenser and the framing or between the condenser and the stationary lining partially surrounding the side frames. This I remedy by substituting for the lining commonly used a springlining, S, provided with a leather face, T. This lining, when the lint accumulates beneath it, yields to the pressure, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and allows the lint to be carried out by the rotations of the condenser, thereby relieving the machine. A similar spring, U, is placed partially around the roller E for relieving it of a like trouble.

By combining the gin and condenser together the difiiculties and objections incident to the use of a gin discharging its lint mixed with dust and dirt into a lint-room are entirely avoided.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the brush-cylinder O, condenser D, and curved shield or apron N, having its upper edge arranged substantially as specified with respect to the condenser D for dividing the air-currents, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with a blast-producing mechanism and a condensing-cylinder, substantially as described, of a curved shield or apron, N, partially enveloping the condenser D at its rear and bottom parts, as herein shown and described, for the purpose of guiding the bat of cotton as it is discharged from the machine, and for protecting the cotton from the dirt discharged from the condenser, as herein specified.

3. The combination, with a blast-producing mechanism and a condensing-cylinder, of the roller E and curved shield or apron N, having its upper edge arranged with respect to con denser D and roller E substantially as shown and described, for the purpose of raising the bat of cotton from said condenser, in the manner herein specified.

4. The combination of the condenser D and pressing-roller E with the shield or apron N, as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination, with a delivery-throat, as herein described, of the lid Q, hinged to the cover 1?, and arranged to maintain its contact with the roller E while the said roller rises and falls, as and for the purpose herein specified.

6. The combination of a condensing-cylinder, a pressing-roller, a flue for conducting the cotton to the condensing-cylinder and pressing-roller, and a dust-arrester for preventing 8. The combination of the condenser D with the escape of dust, lint, 850., from the flue or the spring-lining S, as and for the purpose throat, as herein specified. specified. I

7. The combination of a condensing-cylin- 9. The combination of the pressing-roller E 5 der and a pressing-roller in yielding bearings with the spring-lining U, as and for the pur- 15 with a. dust-arresting strip, 2t shield or apron, pose specified. and end pieces which form, in conj nnction with CHAS. F. SOATTERGOOD. the apron, a receptacle for the dust and dirt Witnesses: separated from the cotton, all as herein speci- WILLIAM H. Low, 10 fied. H. V. SGATTERGOOD. 

